


Kelpies

by count_chocula



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-22
Updated: 2018-10-22
Packaged: 2019-08-05 17:14:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 847
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16371770
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/count_chocula/pseuds/count_chocula
Summary: There were kelpies in the school well.





	Kelpies

There were kelpies in the school well. A number of them, in fact, all tossing their green bulrush manes around as they ripped apart the chickens that had foolishly stumbled in. The well’s water had turned a pinkish red color, and the smell was so horrid, Harry could taste it on his tongue all the way at the lip of the stone well. His fingers clenched the sides of the well, skirting against the rough stone, feeling the cracks on his fingertips. The bucket he’d absentmindedly reeled up swayed back and forth in front of him, the same pinkish water from below spilling over the rim, splashing all over the stone and onto Harry’s shoes. 

 

He coughed and hid his nose in his shirt, wincing when he caught the odorous smell of his own body, having neglected to bathe in a few days. Still, nothing distilled the stench of death below him. The chickens had been dead for a few minutes already, and the kelpies were making quick work of the flesh still hanging onto their bones, sucking on the marrow as Harry remained in place with his knees locked. He didn’t realize he was trembling until he let go of the well and took a step back, the sight of the dead chickens too painful a reminder of his second year, that it forced bile up his throat. The knobby quality of his knees had faded a bit due to age, the growth of muscle, and a regular eating schedule, but standing next to the well with soaked shoes and sweat dripping down his face due to the day’s humidity practically transported him back to a time when being small and feeling small were interchangeable.  

 

The sun was a pale ghost in the sky, so thoroughly obscured by clouds that it might as well not have been there at all. Harry stared up at it until his neck began to hurt, and his eyes started to water. He took a couple more steps back from the well, and eventually turned and walked away, still hearing the sound of snarls and smacking lips behind him. The grass underneath his feet was overgrown but matted down by rain, and his shoes squelched uncomfortably in the wet grass as he walked over to Hagrid’s hut. 

 

Blue fairy lights floated around the very top of the hut, and they danced around the stout brown chimney billowing out large puffs of gray smoke every few seconds. Watching them made him dizzy, and he averted his eyes to stare instead at the orange pumpkins that encircled the hut. He smiled when he remembered the boulder-like size of the pumpkins during the beginning of his second year, around the time Ginny had still been starstruck by him and every insignificant thing he did. The pumpkins were much smaller now, just barely starting to grow, and thinking about Ginny made his heart hurt so he didn’t do that for much longer. 

 

By the time he approached the hut, the sky around him had grown darker, the stars illuminating his pathway better than the torches that’d been knocked over by either the rain or its accompanying wind several hours before. He righted them as he passed by. The door to Hagrid’s hut burst open, and Hagrid stumbled outside, huffing in pain due to the weight of the basket of rock-shaped cherry red apples he carried with him. As soon as he spotted Harry sloping up the hill, he gave a great shout and waved his hand so enthusiastically that several apples spilled out of the basket and rolled past Harry. He picked one up as it passed by him and wiped off the wet dirt and grass onto his shirt before taking a large bite out of it. It tasted sour. He made a face, but hid it behind the apple skin, waving back at Hagrid. 

 

“Harry! Wha’ yeh doin’ up so late, eh? Dunno abou’ yeh, but I’m barely keepin’ me eyes open,” said Hagrid boisterously. He’d crouched down to pick up the apples that’d fallen, but this only seemed to make more apples jump out of the basket. He huffed, placing a large hand on his back. “Jus’ gotta ge’ these apples ter the Grea’ Hall, but as soon as I finish tha’ I can mee’ with yeh and have some tea.” He’d apparently not yet realized the chickens were gone.  

 

Harry swept by him, seemingly on auto-pilot. He placed his apple into the basket, the bite he’d taken out of it already yellowing, and continued to walk to the castle. Its dark stone walls blended into the night, and the light that poured through the few windows that were still on only served to give it a more foreboding visage. Hagrid let out a wounded cry as he saw Harry move toward the castle without him. 

 

“There are kelpies in the well, Hagrid,” said Harry blankly over his shoulder. By the time he got to the large iron doors of the castle, he’d forgotten why he’d come out in the first place.


End file.
